Verizon adds new $30 upgrade fee to match the competition

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When that glorious day comes, and you’re finally eligible for a discount price on a new smartphone, you know on some level that the emotional high will be dashed to bits when you see the fees and surcharges piled up on your next bill. Until now, Verizon Wireless was being uncharacteristically generous in not charging customers for the privilege of buying a new smartphone. As of April 22, Big Red is changing that and will be requiring a $30 upgrade fee when you buy a new phone.

This move has been reported variously as either terrible, or the worst thing any company has ever done. That seems to be the default position for almost anything cell carriers in the US do. In reality, this is just bringing Verizon in line with the other carriers. You can certainly make the argument that the fee is unnecessary gouging in the first place, but Verizon isn’t even close to treading on new ground here.

AT&T and Sprint both charge $36 for users to upgrade devices, while T-Mobile only charges $18. It is worth noting that the new upgrade fee is different from the activation fee that Verizon has always charged. That’s $35 for new customers; so at least existing subscribers get a little break there.

Verizon is spinning this as a necessary fee to help the carrier “provide customers with the level of service and support they have come to expect.” Verizon goes on to explain the importance of workshops, training, and advice from store reps. By that logic, I have to wonder if maybe I can just opt out of that kind of support and skip the fee entirely (but probably not).

If you’re an existing Verizon customer and have been eyeing a new device, now might be the time to pounce in order to avoid that new fee.